Florida Amendment 3 Explained: What It Would Mean for Homebuyers and Homeowners

A much larger homestead exemption could lower the cost of owning a Florida home – but it would not eliminate property taxes, and when you become a Florida resident matters more than ever. Here is what the proposal would, and would not, do.

For Florida homeowners, buyers, and people planning a move to Florida. Amendment 3 is a proposal on the November 3, 2026 ballot. It is not law unless voters approve it.

For buyers, Amendment 3 is not just about a lower tax bill someday. It changes the math on timing, monthly housing costs, and what a seller’s current tax bill can – and cannot – tell you.

If you own a home in Florida, or you have been pricing one, you have probably heard some version of this headline: “Florida is going to eliminate property taxes.”

That is not what Amendment 3 does.

Amendment 3 – formally the Homestead Tax Exemptions, Property Assessments, and Spending Restrictions Amendment, placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature as CS/HJR 1F in a June 2026 special session – would sharply expand the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes, slow assessment growth on second homes, rentals, and commercial property, and direct local governments to spend property tax revenue on core services. It needs 60% voter approval to become part of the Florida Constitution, and if it passes, it takes effect January 1, 2027. Your November 2026 tax bill is not affected either way.

THE TWO MISCONCEPTIONS TO CLEAR UP FIRST

1. Amendment 3 does not abolish property taxes. School taxes would continue, and most homeowners would still owe non-school taxes on value above the exemption.
2. A $250,000 exemption is not $250,000 in savings. An exemption lowers your home’s taxable value. Your savings are that amount multiplied by your local tax (millage) rates.

HOW FLORIDA PROPERTY TAXES WORK TODAY

Florida’s homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of your primary residence. For 2026, the maximum is about $51,411: the first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, including school taxes, plus up to about $26,411 more – adjusted for inflation – that applies only to non-school taxes (county, city, and special district levies).

Two other rules shape your bill today. The Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in a homestead’s assessed value to the lesser of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). And when a home sells, that cap generally falls away and the property is reassessed at market value as of the following January 1 – which is why a buyer’s first full tax bill so often looks very different from the seller’s.

Second homes, rentals, vacant land, and commercial property get no homestead exemption. Their assessed value for non-school taxes can currently rise by up to 10% a year.

WHAT AMENDMENT 3 WOULD CHANGE – AT A GLANCE

– Homestead exemption, non-school taxes: Today, up to about $51,411 in 2026. Under Amendment 3, if passed: $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusted for inflation from 2029.
– Homestead exemption, school taxes: $25,000 today. No change – stays at $25,000.
– Save Our Homes cap (homestead): 3% or CPI, whichever is lower. No change.
– Portability: Transfer up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes benefit to a new homestead. No change.
– Assessment cap, non-homestead property: 10% per year for non-school taxes today. Under Amendment 3: 5% per year for non-school taxes.
– New Florida residents: Qualify for the standard exemption when they establish homestead today. Under Amendment 3: Start with the existing exemption (about $50,000); the larger exemption begins in the fifth year of exemption – see the December 31 deadline below.
– Local government spending: Counties and cities levy for their respective purposes today. Under Amendment 3: Property tax revenue directed to public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resources and flood control, bond debt, employee retirement benefits, and government operations, with a uniform procedure for localities to raise the exemption further, up to full assessed value.

School taxes are a large share of the bill – roughly 35% to 45% in many counties – and Amendment 3 leaves them untouched. That is why the relief, even when it is substantial, applies to only part of what you pay.

A WORKED EXAMPLE: A HOME ASSESSED AT $300,000

Same home, same assessed value. Only the non-school taxable value changes.

– Taxable value for county, city and special district taxes: about $250,000 today; $150,000 in 2027; $50,000 in 2028.
– Taxable value for school taxes: $275,000 today; $275,000 in 2027; $275,000 in 2028.

Florida Realtors has estimated average savings of roughly $1,000 a year in 2027 and about $1,800 in 2028, and Florida TaxWatch estimates in some communities could exceed $3,000 by 2028. Your number will be higher or lower depending on your assessed value and your county and city millage rates.

There is a second way to picture it. A qualifying homestead assessed at $150,000 or less in 2027, or $250,000 or less in 2028, would owe no county, city, or special district property taxes at all on that value. School taxes would still apply, so the bill would not be zero – but for smaller homes, condos, and many first-time purchases, that is a genuine change in the cost of ownership. Because property taxes are usually escrowed into a monthly mortgage payment, savings like these show up month to month, not just once a year.

Amendment 3 will be decided on November 3, 2026. Like every Florida constitutional amendment, it needs at least 60% of the vote – a simple majority is not enough.

IF YOU ALREADY OWN A FLORIDA HOME – YOU ARE FIRST IN LINE

Homeowners who are Florida permanent residents as of December 31, 2026 and who qualify for homestead would receive the expanded exemption as it phases in: $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 in 2028. Long-time owners, retirees on fixed incomes, and anyone planning to age in place stand to benefit most in everyday terms, because lower carrying costs make it easier to stay in the home they already have.

Recent buyers may see the clearest dollar benefit. When a home sells and is reassessed closer to market value, its taxable value sits higher, so there is more value for a larger exemption to shield.

A lower taxable value is not a guaranteed lower bill. Local governments set millage rates each year. If a county or city raises its rate to make up lost revenue, part of the exemption’s benefit can be offset. Property appraisers across Florida have made this point repeatedly: watch your August TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice, not just the exemption amount.

There is also a cost side that homeowners will feel indirectly. Legislative and Revenue Estimating Conference analyses project local non-school revenue falling by roughly $4.6 to $5.0 billion in fiscal 2027-28, $8.4 to $8.8 billion in 2028-29, and approaching $11.9 billion a year once fully in place. Amendment 3 tries to focus what remains on core services, but cities, counties, and special districts will still have to reconcile smaller property tax bases with the cost of fire rescue, law enforcement, roads, stormwater, and other services residents expect.

IF YOU ARE BUYING – ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE MOVING TO FLORIDA – TIMING MATTERS

This is where Amendment 3 changes buying decisions, not just tax bills.

THE DECEMBER 31, 2026 RESIDENCY LINE

People who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 will, under the ballot language, receive the existing homestead exemption when they qualify, with the increased exemption beginning in their fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution. In plain terms:

– Resident by Dec. 31, 2026: Eligible for the $150,000 exemption in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 once you own and homestead your primary home.
– Resident after Dec. 31, 2026: Start at about $50,000 and wait until the fifth year for the larger amount. On a $400,000 to $600,000 home, that gap can add up to thousands of dollars over four years.

That does not mean anyone should rush a purchase they are not ready for, or try to claim residency they have not genuinely established. It does mean that if a move to Florida is already in your plans for late 2026 or early 2027, the date you establish permanent residency – and can document it – is now a financial decision worth discussing early with your agent, your county property appraiser, and a Florida tax adviser.

DO NOT BUDGET FROM THE SELLER’S TAX BILL

A sale still resets a home’s assessed value toward market value. Two buyers paying the same price for the same house could receive very different bills for several years if one was a Florida resident by the end of 2026 and the other was not. Ask for an estimate based on the purchase price and your own homestead timeline, not the seller’s current bill, and remember that taxes prorated at closing in 2027 may still be based on 2026 figures before the new exemption appears.

FILE FOR HOMESTEAD ON TIME

Homestead eligibility is generally determined as of January 1, with applications due to the county property appraiser by around March 1 in the first year. Missing that filing costs you the exemption for that year, whatever voters decide in November.

HOW AMENDMENT 3 WOULD AFFECT FIRST RESPONDERS

First responders sit on both sides of Amendment 3. As Florida homeowners, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel who homestead their own homes would get the same benefit as any other homeowner: the larger non-school exemption on the same schedule, with the same December 31, 2026 residency line. The amendment does not change the existing exemptions for first responders, veterans, seniors, or people with disabilities.

As the people who answer the call, they face the other side of the same measure – because police, fire rescue, and emergency medical services are paid for largely out of the local property taxes Amendment 3 would reduce.

PUBLIC SAFETY IS AN ALLOWED USE – BUT IT IS NOT GUARANTEED AN AMOUNT

Amendment 3 lists public safety, including police, fire, and emergency medical service, among the purposes city and county property tax revenue may be used for. Being on that list does not set a dollar amount, a minimum, or a priority over the other listed uses. There is no requirement that police and fire be funded first.

The protection that is not in the version on your ballot: An earlier 2026 proposal, HJR 203, would have barred cities and counties from cutting funding for law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders below what they budgeted in 2025-26 or 2026-27, whichever was higher, and would have required a state fund to replace lost revenue. Neither protection is in Amendment 3 as passed: the funding floor was dropped, and the state trust fund was removed during the June special session. Nothing in the amendment replaces the lost local revenue.

That distinction matters. In August 2026 a Leon County circuit judge ruled the original ballot summary misleading in part because the amendment text does not guarantee funding for police, fire, or other services, and the title and summary were rewritten.

WHY STAFFING IS WHERE THE PRESSURE LANDS

Public safety is the largest budget item in about 80% of Florida communities, according to figures cited by the Vote No on 3 campaign, and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has noted that about 85% of public safety budgets are salaried positions. A department cannot absorb a large revenue loss mainly by buying less equipment – sooner or later the choice is about people on shift, stations open, and crews available when several 911 calls come in at once.

The statewide revenue estimates already noted in this post – roughly $4.9 billion less for local governments in the first year and about $11.8 billion less a year once fully in place – are the backdrop. How much of that lands on any one department depends on its city or county: its millage decision, its other revenue, and how it funds fire and EMS. Some fire services are paid partly through separate fire assessments, which are not property taxes and are not reduced by this exemption, so the impact will not be the same everywhere.

WHAT SHERIFFS, POLICE, AND FIRE GROUPS ARE SAYING

The major statewide public safety organizations have come out against Amendment 3, or said they cannot support it as written:

– Florida Sheriffs Association – “significantly concerned,” warning that the amendment could hand Tallahassee control over local budgets and lengthen law enforcement response times.
– Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, representing 24,000 law enforcement officers – opposed in July, saying “Public safety should never become collateral damage with uncertain fiscal consequences.”
– Florida Fire Chiefs Association – cannot support it in its current form, citing “substantial uncertainty regarding the future funding of fire protection, emergency medical services, and disaster response without identifying a sustainable replacement revenue source.”
– Florida Professional Firefighters and individual sheriffs, including Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd – Judd said he fears the proposal “will devastate counties’ and cities’ ability to deliver vital services, including emergency services.”

Rural communities are expected to feel it first and hardest. Senate President Ben Albritton, who is voting no, has said Amendment 3 would eliminate up to 30% of resources for Florida’s rural counties. Rural sheriffs have warned of deputies taken off the street, small police and fire departments consolidating, backup arriving much later, and less capacity to help neighboring counties after a hurricane – the mutual aid homeowners count on in a storm.

Closer to home, the City of Palm Beach Gardens – which says property taxes provide 70% of its general fund revenue – projects a $24 million annual revenue loss once the $250,000 exemption is fully in place in 2028, and lists reduced staffing of 64 firefighters and 35 sworn officers in just the first two years, with longer emergency response times and fewer crews available when multiple 911 calls occur. That is one city’s own projection, not a statewide forecast, but it shows the scale of the trade-off local governments in Palm Beach County are preparing for.

WHAT SUPPORTERS ANSWER

Supporters say Amendment 3 does not itself cut a single deputy or firefighter. City and county commissions still set millage rates and budgets, and they argue local governments can raise millage where voters support it, find efficiencies, and direct the remaining property tax dollars to core services such as public safety first. House sponsor Rep. Toby Overdorf has said that long term “the sheriffs will be just fine,” and Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz has said efficiencies can be found while maintaining public safety. Governor Ron DeSantis has dismissed the warnings as fear-mongering and suggested state grants could help fill gaps.

Read those assurances against the text: efficiencies and millage increases are choices a local government can make, not outcomes the amendment guarantees, and no replacement revenue is identified in the amendment itself. For homeowners, the practical question is local – ask your county and city how your sheriff, police, and fire rescue are funded, what share comes from property tax, and what their plan is if Amendment 3 passes.

SECOND HOMES, RENTALS, AND INVESTORS GET A DIFFERENT KIND OF RELIEF

Non-homestead property receives no new exemption under Amendment 3. What it receives is predictability: the cap on annual assessment increases for non-school taxes falls from 10% to 5%. A rental assessed at $400,000, for example, could rise by no more than $20,000 in a year instead of $40,000.

That helps owners who already hold a second home, rental, or commercial property ride out a fast-rising market. It does not change the reset on purchase: a newly acquired rental or commercial property should still be reassessed at market value as of the January 1 after the sale. Renters receive no exemption directly, though slower assessment growth on rental property may, over time, ease one pressure on rents – it does not guarantee lower rent.

THE DEBATE, IN BRIEF

Supporters, including Florida Realtors and the legislative majorities that passed the measure 75-26 in the House and 30-9 in the Senate, describe Amendment 3 as long-overdue relief as local property tax collections have risen sharply, protection for homeowners and businesses against steep increases, and a way to keep property tax dollars focused on core public services.

Opponents, including the Florida League of Cities and organizations representing sheriffs, police, and firefighters, warn that a revenue loss of this size will squeeze local budgets for public safety and disaster response, and that renters, businesses, and non-homestead owners could end up carrying a larger share of the cost through higher millage rates, fees, or reduced services.

Both points can be true for different households in the same county. That is why the millage decisions local governments make in 2027 and 2028 matter almost as much as the vote itself.

WHAT TO DO NOW

– Pull your current bill and your TRIM notice. Know your assessed value, taxable values, and millage rates before you estimate any savings.
– Do not spend the savings yet. Nothing changes unless Amendment 3 reaches 60% on November 3, 2026, and final savings depend on millage rates set afterward.
– If you are moving, map your residency date. Talk through the December 31, 2026 line and homestead filing deadlines before you set a closing date.
– If you are buying, estimate taxes from your purchase price – not the seller’s bill – and ask how reassessment and your residency timeline change the estimate.
– Ask how first responders are funded where you live if Amendment 3 passes.
– Vote with the full picture. Check that you are voting on Amendment 3, titled “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments” – it is not the 2024 Amendment 3, and other amendments share the 2026 ballot.

QUICK ANSWERS

Does Amendment 3 eliminate Florida property taxes?
No. It expands the non-school homestead exemption. School taxes, and non-school taxes on value above the exemption, would continue.

When would it start?
If approved by at least 60% of voters on November 3, 2026, it takes effect January 1, 2027, with the $150,000 exemption in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.

I am buying in 2027. Will I get the full exemption?
It depends on residency. If you were a Florida resident on December 31, 2026, you are in line for the larger amount when you homestead. If you become a resident after that date, you start with the existing exemption and reach the larger amount in your fifth year of exemption.

Does Amendment 3 protect funding for police, fire, and EMS?
No – not with a guaranteed amount. Public safety is an allowed use of property tax revenue, but the amendment sets no minimum, no priority, and no replacement revenue. The earlier bar on cutting first responder funding below 2025-26 or 2026-27 levels was dropped. Staffing and response times would depend on the millage and budget decisions your city and county make afterward.

Will my home’s value fall if this passes?
Amendment 3 changes taxable value, not market value. Lower ongoing ownership costs can make homes more attractive to buyers, which is why many analysts expect demand – especially for entry-level and retiree-friendly homes – to hold up or rise, not fall, if it passes. No outcome is guaranteed.

Disclaimer: This post is for general information only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Amendment 3 is a proposed constitutional amendment as it appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot (CS/HJR 1F); implementing legislation, court decisions, and local millage decisions after the election could affect how it applies. Talk to a Florida tax adviser and your county property appraiser about your own property.

Sources:
– Ballotpedia, “Florida Amendment 3, Homestead Tax Exemptions, Property Assessments, and Spending Restrictions Amendment (2026)” – https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amendment_3,_Homestead_Tax_Exemptions,_Property_Assessments,_and_Spending_Restrictions_Amendment_(2026)
– Munizzi Law, “Amendment 3 Explained: What Florida’s Property Tax Amendment Would Mean for Homeowners, Buyers, and Investors” (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://www.munizzilaw.com/blog/florida-amendment-3-property-tax-explained
– Florida Senate, CS/HJR 1F ballot text as reproduced by Ballotpedia
– Florida Trend / News Service of Florida (Aug. 4, 2026) – https://www.floridatrend.com/articles/2026/08/04/sheriffs-police-firefighters-groups-sound-alarm-over-property-tax-measure/
– City of Ocoee, Amendment 3 Tax Facts (Sept. 30, 2026) – https://www.ocoeetaxfacts.org/amendment3.html
– Creative Loafing Tampa (Oct. 30, 2026) – https://www.cltampa.com/news/its-going-to-take-deputies-off-the-street-floridas-rural-sheriffs-warn-of-cuts-if-amendment-3-passes/
– City of Palm Beach Gardens, Tax Talk – https://pbgfl.gov/1580/Tax-Talk/taxtalk